Andhra Pradesh has secured an additional 65 MW power from the Central Generating Stations. A delegation of the State Energy Department led by Secretary Ajay Jain succeeded in convincing the Central Electricity Authority about the disparity that cropped up in the allocation of power from the CGS at a high level meeting convened in New Delhi on Monday.
CEA Chairman Neeraj Mathur, who chaired the meeting of the energy secretaries of AP and Telangana, directed the officials concerned to enhance the share of A.P. from the existing 46.11 per cent to 47.88 per cent bringing an additional 65 MW power from the central pool.
According to sources, there was a consensus among the two States on the issue and the Telangana officials agreed to part with 1.77 per cent energy from the CGS. This would in turn reduce the share of Telangana from 53.89 per cent to 52.12 per cent.
The meeting had been convened to hold deliberations on, among other things, allocation of power from the CGS, allocation from renewable energy sources, resolving the stalemate over the power purchase agreements and formation of separate regulatory commissions for the two States. There was, however, no consensus on the A.P. government’s move to scrap the PPAs signed between the AP Power Generation Corporation and the distribution companies.
Interestingly, power utilities of the two States were reportedly critical of the AP Electricity Regulatory Commission for not giving its nod for the PPAs when the applications were made. “The APERC did not give its nod to the PPAs for more than five years leading to problems,” an official who attended the meeting said.
The meeting also discussed about the possibility of creation of separate regulatory bodies for the two States, but the participants reportedly had cited complications in forming such bodies straightaway. “There is a huge variance in the provisions of the Electricity Act and the manner in which the AP Reorganisation Act was drafted posing complications in the constitution of separate regulatory bodies for the two States,” an official said.
“There are several legal complications issued in the two areas. The CEA chairman has announced intentions to convene another meeting on July 24 to discuss and sort out the issues in the presence of experts,” an official said.
